


Just Aru

by RobbyA



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), ひとりぼっちのまるまる生活 | Hitori Bocchi No Marumaru Seikatsu (Anime)
Genre: Afterlife, Experiment, Punishment, Reincarnation, hitoribocchi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:01:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24145543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobbyA/pseuds/RobbyA
Summary: After the events of her game, Monika is found falling in the bottomless void and is given the chance to reincarnate in another world as part of an experiment. Seeing no other option, Monika takes the option, but is reborn as a clumsy middle school girl.
Relationships: Aru Honshou - Relationship, monika - Relationship
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Mm...where am I? That’s funny, I thought that everything from the game was erased. Is this what dying feels like? It almost feels peaceful. 

Monika found herself floating in the white void between worlds apparently being the only one who survived the deletion of the game. Her downward spiral was without end no visible grounding in sight. Alone, Monika couldn’t help but cry to herself for her plight.

“Is this really it for me?” she wept. “I guess I deserve it for what I’ve done.” 

“On the contrary my sweet girl!” a voice rang out. 

Monika’s eyes widened. “Huh? Who’s there?” 

Without warning, Monika stopped falling. Before she could fully comprehend what was transpiring, she fell into a chair and found herself in a room. “What is this?” 

“I’m glad you could make it.” 

Monika’s eyes darted around. “That voice again. Show yourself!” 

A bright, white light filled the room, blinding Monika. She heard another chair pull out, and someone getting seated. “Alright, you can open your eyes now.” 

Monika opened her eyes as the voice demanded her. She was taken aback at what she had seen. “S-Sayori?” 

The being before her resembled Sayori in appearance, but she wore an extravagant purple dress and had a golden leaf-headband. She possessed two large bird wings that were white as snow. “Well, not Sayori as you have called me, but I merely took the form of something that you were comfortable with, mostly since you were thinking about her when you were falling to oblivion.” 

Monika arched an eyebrow. “What are you usually?” 

The strange girl inhaled deeply and leaned in close to Monika’s face. Her face peeled back and black, inky tentacles laced with eyes erupted from every orifice of her face. 

“Okay! Okay!” Monika shrieked and covering her face. “Please, please just go back to Sayori’s form.” 

The girl resumed Sayori’s likeness. “Well, let’s get down to business then. Do you know where you’re going?” 

Monika laughed nervously. “Valhalla?” 

The coral pink-haired girl smiled devilishly. “TO HELL, FOOLISH MORTAL!!” 

Monika’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Her heart was beating. She clutched her chest. “Ooo...there it goes...heart palpitations.” 

“Just kidding, just kidding!” the girl insisted. “I’m actually going to give you the choice to reincarnate, or move on with your perpetual drop into the bottomless pit.”

Monika scratched her head. Reincarnation? That was actually a thing? Sure, she knew some religions in the real world had a doctrine about the human soul and how many times it could become reborn. But...wait...Monika’s just made of pixels. An AI so to speak. Then how could she have a soul that she could reincarnate with. She continued to ponder not noticing that the Sayori-looking girl had her hands arched in a similar fashion to her back in Act III. “Why are you giving me this chance?” 

“I know. For everything you’ve done in your VN, it is reprehensible, deserving only of an eternal punishment. But I had watched you save the Player when Sayori became mad with power, and you did try to atone for your actions. You sucked at it, but here I was just floating around in the void one day and I thought to myself: hey, it’s that girl from that romance sim thingie! Why the hell not?” 

Monika rubbed her temples. “Maybe falling for eternity is better?” she thought to herself. 

The girl seemed to comprehend what she was thinking and spoke up. “If it interests you, your friends have all been through here.” 

Monika’s eyes lit up. “Really?” 

“Yes, indeed,” she said. “All of them have reincarnated into new forms, but they have no recollection of what you had done to them.” 

“Is that so? Name one.” 

The girl smiled. “That pink-haired one, for instance? She loved manga so much, so now she basically works as a manga artist. Just for the heck of it, I send Yuri to the same world Natsuki went to. She did protest a bit at my decision, but I really didn’t care. I mean I have all the time in the world since I am an ageless, perfect being.” 

Monika scoffed at the girl calling herself “perfect.” The girl glared at her compelling her to be quiet. 

“If you choose to reincarnate, know that the powers you had in your game will not exist in the world I send you to. You will be as normal as everyone else.” 

Monika frowned. “Normal?” Well, to be honest it was a burden having to deal with being self-aware. “Eh, I guess I can live without them.” 

“Excellent choice, Monika,” the girl said. She extended her hand to hers. “Shall we shake on it?” 

Monika reluctantly grabbed the girl’s hand and shook it. The ground opened up underneath Monika forcing her to try to hold onto the desk that had manifested. “Wait, what is going on?” 

The girl smiled and waved her hand. “You need to learn to put other people’s needs before your own; once you have learned compassion from this experiment, you can either choose to leave and restart again somewhere else, or you can stay.” 

With that, the strange girl disappeared and Monika fell into the hole. The white light appeared again being more strong than before. “I hope I won’t regret this decision” Monika thought to herself.

Buzz. Buzzzzz...  
The rays of sunshine caressed Monika’s eyes forcing them open. “Mm..what the hell happened last night?” 

She rubbed a streak of dry drool from the side of her mouth and stretched her arms. Everything seemed to be back in order. Sure, there were a few alterations to her bedroom, but she still felt like the same old Monika. Yawning deeply, Monika began to walk towards the bathroom. Entering it, Monika approached the sink and ran some water in the sink. She scooped a handful of the cold water and splashed it on her face. After doing it two more times, she grabbed a bath towel and scrubbed her face with it. Satisfied, Monika pitched the towel into the heap and turned to head out of the bathroom. Before she did so, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was startled.

In some ways she resembled herself, but her brown hair and green eyes were noticeably a different shade. “What? Did I get sent back to when I was a little girl?” 

Monika pulled back the front of her pajamas top. She grimaced. “My girls! They’re gone!” She felt down her legs becoming further alarmed. “What the hell happened to my thicness!? Should I look at my hoohoo next?” Monika swallowed nervously and pulled back her pants. The color in her face disappeared. “Am I...a loli now or whatever Natsuki is? Does this mean I have to go through the awkward stages of puberty again!?” Monika groaned. She did not want to go back to those times of wearing training bras and pimples. Growing up sucked royally. Before she could further have a mental panic, a feminine voice called out. 

“Aru, school’s about to start.”


	2. Getting Situated

"Aru?" Monika thought. She tossed the name around in her mind letting it simmer. So that is the name she will be using in this world? Monika thought more about what this new world would entail, but she was stopped in her tracks by that feminine voice again. "I take it that this is my Mom?"

Aru looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand and nearly had a heart attack. "Ah, shit, I'm going to be late!"

Aru frantically slipped on her clothes and went to run down the stairs. "I don't know why I am in such a hurry like this. After all…"

Right on cue, Aru had neglected to notice that one of her black stockings was barely clinging onto her left foot becoming undone. As she was about to fully comprehend her situation, Aru fell down the flight of stairs and crashed on her face. "Son of a bitch…" Aru groaned internally.

There came the soft pitter patting of feet and before Aru knew it, her mother bent to her level and glared at her. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

(So that is this girl's "Mom?" Well I have to say something; I do not want to leave her hanging.)

"Yes, Mom," Aru said…she noticeably strained on the last word.

Her mother smiled. "That is good to hear. Made you some toast before you head out."

(Dammit, toast? That is one of the most generic anime tropes that I am sure even Natsuki would be annoyed with.)

"Thanks, Mom," Aru said.

Finishing up on breakfast, Aru collected her book bag and dashed towards the door. Her mother saw this with some urgency in her voice.

"Wait, Aru, your collar! -"

"Catch ya later!" was the only response Aru gave her mother. She walked down the pavement her sense of urgency diminishing. She found herself meeting up with a few students that she assumed were a part of her class. She struggled to give a response to them but, of course, her words escaped her.

(Okay, Monika, so far so good.)

The middle school was named Sakura Dai Ni. Aru stopped at the entrance and rubbed her chin contemplatively. "So, if everyone was so talkative with me, I kind of wonder if that means I have some highly important job."

Her teacher, Oshie Teruyo, looked at Aru in a bewildered daze. "You're the vice class president, Aru. Have you forgotten?"

(Are you kidding me? I couldn't even get class president!? This body suuuucks….)

"Right, I apologize, Sensei."

Oshie tilted her head. "Do you feel faint? Should I send for the nurse to check you?"

Aru shook her head. "I'm good. No need to worry."

Oshie was still concerned, but she nodded and returned to her desk in the front of the room. Aru went to her desk. Before class began, Aru noticed an odd thing. Across from her, she saw a dark brown-haired girl with pink eyes trying to speak to a girl with short blonde hair and amber eyes. She leaned forward in a feeble attempt of eavesdropping on the conversation.

(The blonde girl sounds upset for some reason. Wait, why do I care?)

First period ended and Aru nonchalantly chatted with some of her classmates. She had to admit that despite her conflicted thoughts, she was making the most out of her middle school life. As she walked, she noticed someone sitting on the steps at the bottom of the stairs.

(Hey, there's that pink-eyed girl again.)

The girl held some odd figurine in her hands. Aru stepped down a few stairs to get a closer look. Even then, she was still perplexed.

(Is that…some old man with fairy wings? What kind of world did that Sayori-looking girl teleport me to?)

"Kai-chan, I'm back to zero friends again," the girl told herself.

(This is depressing. Should I maybe see what the matter is?)

Aru sat beside the girl. "Hey there, what's going on?"

The pink-eyed girl jumped and inched away from Aru. Her breathing was becoming strained. From what Aru could see, just her being close to her was enough to make her feel nauseous."

"I-I…" the girl said.

(You know, she kind of reminds me a lot of Yuri. It was an absolute chore convincing her to join the Literature Club.)

"I had noticed you having some sort of discussion with whom I assume to be your friend," Aru answered slowly, "what happened?"

"My name is Bocchi," the pink-haired girl suddenly stammered. "I like my rice with Natto finely crushed."

(…Okay then.)

"My name is Aru. Here, please take this tissue to wipe your tears."

Bocchi did as she was told, but she also blew into it, sounding like some wild animal.

(Ew, how grody!)

"Thanks," Bocchi said.

"You're welcome," Aru said still disgusted slightly when being handed the tissue back. "Why not tell me from the beginning?"

Aru tentatively listened for a good period of time, but she could feel her patience slowly erode. Bocchi went on different, unrelated tangents to get to what happened between her and her friend. Aru tried to force a smile throughout even if it was slightly insufferable.

"I just wonder why Nako was mad at me."

(Oh my god! You literally just got finished saying that you admitted to her that you became friends with her because of a promise that you made to your childhood friend. Just how dense is this girl. Oh my god…)

"Well do not worry, your perfect vice class president is here to help!"

The two returned to the classroom where Bocchi approached Nako. Nako had her back turned to her almost not noticing that Bocchi was stumbling. Aru sighed to herself and made her leave to collect Bocchi's items.

"At…at first, I thought you were scary," Bocchi began, "but you're nice!"

(Wow, Bocchi can really be a hard case. But I want to protecc that smile at all costs.)

Getting Bocchi's belongings, Aru made her way back to the classroom. "Bocchi, you forgot…"

"I did speak to you because of my promise with Kai-chain," Bocchi stammered close to tears again, "but because of that promise, I have grown to…LOVE YOU, NAKO-CHAN!"

Nako and Aru's mouths both hung open. "Y-you idiot, people will get the wrong idea," Nako pointed out.

(Oh, so it was that kind of relationship. Well, I can dig it; after all, the player's gender did not matter to me that much.)

"I'm going to head out now. Sorry to intrude!"

Aru dashed off not noting that Nako was yelling after her. "Wait! You have the wrong idea!)

The day was nearing its end, and Aru prepared her things to head home. "Well, this wasn't as hard as I would have thought. And here I was thinking it would be more challenging."

Heading out of the school, Aru saw the two girls she had met earlier approach her. Bocchi was smiling brightly at her. This did bring a smile to Aru's face as well. "Oh, hey, guys."

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me with Nako," Bocchi remarked.

"Oh, no problem. Your perfect class representative is always here to help."

Nako squinted at her in curiosity. "What's that hanging at the back of your collar?"

Aru's eyebrow arched. "I beg your pardon?"

Sure enough, Aru turned her head and to her bewilderment, there was a clothes hanger. Aru desperately scrambled to hide it from the two girls. "Uh…no this is just for…uh…."

"Fashion?" Bocchi asked.

"Yes, yes, that's right; fashion!" Aru shouted whilst striking a pose.

(I can't believe that she fell for it; that was a close one.)

"That sounds really unfortunate," Nako remarks.

(What the hell did that little pipsqueak say to me?)

"Uh, it's just a family thing, you wouldn't understand."

"That still sounds very unfortunate."

Aru felt a nerve throb in her forehead. "Well, my Mom and I wear matching panties."

"Still unfortunate," Nako noted.

(That's it…DELETE!)

Aru strained, her cheeks becoming a deep shade of red. Sweat began to beat down from her forehead. Bocchi and Nako looked at each other perplexed. "What are you doing, Aru?" Bocchi asked.

(Oh, that's right…I can't delete anymore. Stupid Sayori fairy!)

"She looks constipated," Nako noted.

Embarrassed, Aru ran off compelling the two girls to run after her. They found her sitting on one of the bars of the monkey bar. "Oh, have you come to criticize me more?"

"No, that's not why we're here," Bocchi clarified.

"I've been nothing but unfortunate for as long as I could remember," Aru explained, "I even decided to take part in representing the class…but I'm just the vice class president."

"That is very unfortunate," Nako added.

Bocchi shook her head defiantly. "If it wasn't for you, I would have never made up with Nako."

"So, what are you saying?" Aru asked.

"I want you to be friends with us."

(Friends, huh? Well, I have nothing better to do, so why not?)

Aru nodded her head. Bocchi began to hyperventilate for some reason. "She said no, Nako!"

(How dense is this girl?)

"I said yes!"

Bocchi smiled again. "I'm so…happy…"

Aru turned around to see that Nako was holding Bocchi up by her arms. "She does this a lot."

(She does? Where's the medics if this is a recurring problem?)

"Anyway, can you help me with her?"

"Sure, Nako, I will. But first…"

Aru placed her bookbag on the ground making Nako confused. "I…have…"

Suddenly, Aru's eyes became bloodshot from the nerves lining them. She leaned backward on the heels of her feet and ricocheted forward like a missile being launched. Before Nako could figure out what she was doing, she collided with her side.

"A NAME!"

"Wow, so much pride for someone so unfortunate," Nako remarked.

"I said don't call me unfortunate!"

(Ha, that's what that bitch gets. I feel right at home now.)


End file.
